Mira suffered nothing, but heartaches these past few days. She had gotten into another fight with Joowon which resulted more sorrow for her. She was also recently suffering from insomnia as she found it difficult to fall asleep at night. The feeling of loneliness was once again starting to wash into every nerve of her body. She was constantly feeling afraid and was slowly disappearing into the darkness. Jongin was still distant toward her which didn't help either. Every time they bumped into each other at school, he would coldly ignore her so Mira had no choice, but to avoid him. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t worry about Jongin or what he thought of her now, but still she couldn’t push away the bittersweet feeling. She felt hurt every time he would walk past her without greeting her, he wouldn’t even look at her.

Hyerim had noticed that and she was beyond thrilled. She was happy. This meant that she still had a chance…with Jongin. Maybe, she could change his heart and make him develop feelings for her. Taejoon on the other hand still bullied Mira. Mira didn’t let it get to her, but sometimes she would really get upset that it was hard for her to control her emotions and feelings. The worst thing was that now Jongin wasn’t there to help her. She was alone.

Mira took a deep breath while entering the large hospital as she had decided to receive some medication for her insomnia. The receptionist told Mira to take a seat so Mira did. She nervously waited for the doctor to call her into his room. The television was on and the news about the lower class rebel showed. The cold conflict between the two classes was getting worse and worse. Apparently, the lower class people were going to hold a protest this coming Sunday and Mira wanted to participate. She wanted to fight for their freedom with them, but she had heard that the rebels were using violence and it was getting hard for the Government to control them. Even if she wanted to help, she knew that the lower class people would view her as the same. She was another rich, selfish human being who only thought and cared about herself.

The noise of the door opening got Mira's attention. She looked up toward the doctor’s room and was surprisingly greeted by Kyungsoo. Oh what is he doing here? 

Kyungsoo was just as surprised as well. He was hesitant at first to walk toward her. He didn’t plan to avoid her, but he just didn’t know how to start a conversation. It would be rude to just leave without saying anything since they now knew each other. “Hey,” Kyungsoo said with a smile. He knew that Mira was a hard person to get close with.

Mira had a frightened expression on her face at first, but soon loosened up. She had promised herself to show her emotions and expressions to the people around her and she was going to start now. Surprisingly, Mira returned a smile. She slightly bowed as Kyungsoo awkwardly stood in front of her. “What are you doing here?” Mira’s tone sounded cold and harsh and her expression seemed to look like she really didn’t care, but she changed that. She tried to soften her tone and her expression so she wouldn’t scare Kyungsoo away. She didn’t want anybody else running away from her.

For a second, Kyungsoo looked as if he had a panic attack, but soon calmed himself down. “Oh! Me? Well…I just came here to visit someone,” he shakily breathed out. Mira didn’t realise that and just nodded. “What are you doing here? Are you feeling unwell?” He worriedly asked.

Mira didn’t know why, but she felt like telling him how she truly felt right now. Maybe because she really needed someone to listen to her problems. However, she didn’t know him that well so she sternly gave him a short answer. “I haven’t been able to sleep well these past few days. Actually, I have insomnia,” she awkwardly replied while playing with her fingers.

“Oh, I see. It won’t be that bad. I’ve had worse,” it seemed like Kyungsoo was telling the truth, but he quickly covered it with a chuckle. He stopped laughing when he realised that Mira had a blank look on her face. Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, he ran his fingers through his hair and gave Mira a forced smile. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around?” He was supposed to say it in a casual friendly way, but it sounded more like a question.

Great, I scared him with my expressionless face. “Wait!” Mira suddenly called out to Kyungsoo’s surprise. He slowly turned to see Mira who looked nervous. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and unknowingly her lips. “Jongin,” she finally spoke, her voice sounding shaky already. 

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow and mentally smiled. Seriously, these two just can’t even stop thinking about each other. “Yes, what about him?” He asked even though he knew what Mira was going to ask him anyway. He was quiet surprised at how Mira would open up so quickly to topics regarding Jongin. 

“Is he ok? I mean, is he doing well?” She asked flustered which surprised him even more.

The one and only ‘Ice Princess’ was nervously stuttering with red cheeks in front of him. Jongin sure brought Mira out of her shell. He also knew that they had spent quite a large amount of time together. He noticed a few months ago when they all decided to hang out when Jongin would often excuse himself, stating that he had to go see someone and that someone Kyungsoo knew was none-other than Mira. Jongin had also been smiling more and more, but now apparently it seemed like Jongin was pushing her away.

Jongin, himself had actually explained the situation he was in right now and told Kyungsoo how he felt about Mira. Yes, Jongin was his friend, but he found it pathetic how Jongin was afraid to tell Mira how he truly felt about her. However, he knew that it wasn’t his right or his position to say something like this to Jongin, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get them two together.

“If you’re really curious, ask Jongin yourself,” he replied in a rather playful tone, taking Mira back in surprise. She hadn’t expected to receive this kind of response from Kyungsoo. “Mira, I know that it’s not my call to say something about what had happened between you and Jongin, but please do gather up the courage to ask him that yourself. I don’t want to spill the beans, but Jongin has been acting like a walking zombie these past few days and I am worried about him,” he slowly and calmly stated.

Mira’s heart rate sped up when she thought about Jongin. She had told herself that he wasn’t worth worrying over, but she couldn’t stop herself. The truth being that she missed him, she needed him. She wanted to know if he was ok. She had to gather some courage. She had noticed how Jongin was always the first one to talk to her and that she had never really started a conversation with him first. She never initiated anything first. This made her feel terribly guilty as well because she had now realised how she had always cried and complained about how tough her life was when Jongin was also feeling the same way. He was also in need too, he had his own worries as well, but she never really did ask him that.

“Mira, he needs you, he really needs you.” Kyungsoo softly said, but however his tone was stern, trying to get some sense into Mira who now knew what she had to do.

---

His brain stopped functioning at the sight of her. Mira was walking toward him and he didn’t know what to do. Every nerve in his body stopped working and the only thing he could do was to watch her take delicate steps toward him. It took Jongin all his might and strength to regather all the information around him for his body to start functioning again. With all his power, he quickly walked past her and disappeared around the corner, avoiding her once again.

Of course, it was hard for him. It was too hard for him. It hurt him to see Mira and he knew that he had hurt her as well. She had looked pale over the week and he noticed how she often got bullied by Taejoon, but he decided not to do anything about it. He simply ignored it which hurt the both of them. Why was he even angry at himself for doing something like this? It wasn’t as if they were in a close relationship, but why did it feel like Jongin had known her all his life? Why did he feel like he missed her? Why did it feel like he needed her? He wanted to see her, but it was impossible. Jongin thought he was doing this for the best, but he hadn’t realised yet that it was just confusing and hurting Mira more. He could see Mira’s disappointed face when he walked passed her, he was worried about her.

Mira quickly ignored the disappointed feeling and chased after Jongin, not wanting to lose him out of her sight. She was going to talk to him. She was going to face him without any fears or worries. The only thing she wanted to do was to just see and talk to Jongin. She missed his company and his presence.  Her insomnia was still causing her trouble at night as she couldn’t get any sleep at all. She would just toss and turn around on her bed, making her stay awake throughout the whole night even when she wanted to get some rest. 

She had thought that Jongin would have disappeared by now, but surprisingly he stood there facing the school gate, almost everyone in the Academy was looking toward the school gate. Soon the crowd got bigger and bigger as they all started to gather around something or…someone. Mira walked a bit more to get a better view and that's when she saw her.  

There stood a girl. A girl who looked absolutely stunning, her legs went on almost forever and her rich caramel hair flowed in waves, brightening up her sun kissed face. 

Her eyes wandered on each student body, trying to search for the right face. She then smiled when she finally found the person she had been waiting for. “Jongin, over here!” She squealed in joy while waving her hands at the sight of him. 

Mira was just as confused and surprised to now realise that they knew each other. Who was she? What kind of relationship did Jongin and her have? Was Jongin close to her? Mira was drowning in her own thoughts while she watched as the girl hugged him. What the heck? She suddenly felt angry and possessive. Who was she to hug Jongin without his notice? He didn’t even look happy to see her.

“Sohee, what the heck are you doing here?” Jongin hissed while he dragged her away from the crowd, not wanting to get more attention.

She pouted as she got away from his grasp. “I came here to see you, aren’t you happy?” She cutely blinked.

Jongin tried not to let his anger out on her because he was still pissed off at himself for avoiding Mira. “Go back,” he calmly instructed. 

She shook her head, not wanting to listen to him. “I’m having a party at my house tonight and I want you to be there. Oh, bring the rest along as well since I haven’t seen them in ages. You all have to come ok? It’s a must!” She explained and then pecked his cheek.

If she had done that to Jongin at other times, he would have scolded her until she really felt sorry about what she had done, but now he didn’t have the energy. He actually didn’t care. “Alright,” he shortly replied, making Sohee beam in happiness. She waved goodbye as her work here was now done.

A kiss on the cheek? Pfff what are they? 12? For some reason, Mira started feeling aggressive. Yes, she had seen it. She had seen it like the rest when Sohee gave Jongin a kiss. Was this girl his girlfriend? “No, he’s not that easy to get along with,” she started talking to herself, trying to deny the fact that Jongin might be in a relationship with the girl who she saw earlier. “Why am I even worrying about this? I don’t care if he’s in a relationship or not!” She angrily then stomped her way away from everyone.

No, this wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. Mira’s plan, it was wrecked now. She was supposed to start a conversation with Jongin and ask him what was bothering him so much. But now, here she was stomping away in anger at something so…so childish. Was she jealous? “Ha! Hell no!” She shouted at herself in denial. “This is so immature.” She grunted while ruffling her hair, wanting to get rid of this feeling.

---

The music was deafening when the six boys stepped out the car. Beer bottles could be seen strewn about on the lawn with people in clusters sitting around outside either making out or just talking. Some drunk teenagers stumbled around. When they got inside, the atmosphere was hot and the loud thumping music worked its magic as some unknowingly moved their bodies along with the beat. Some were crazily dancing on the little podium, obviously drunk while some sat down in the corner kissing unknown strangers. The colourful neon lights were blinding which made them squint their eyes. 

“I can’t believe I agreed to come along,” Sehun grunted while he examined the people at this so-called party. It was a mess, almost as if Sohee's mansion was turned into a night club. He then suddenly felt someone elbow him and when he turned around, he saw a hyper-active Chanyeol furrowing his eyebrows at him.

“Stop being a party pooper maknae!” Chanyeol shouted over the music.

Baekhyun nodded. “Loosen up for today. Just go find a girl to screw around with,” he suggested.

“YOU GUYS ARE HERE!” They were all caught off guard when Sohee came running toward them. 

She looked gorgeous as always. Yes, they had seen her a few years ago when she was all so cute, but now her image had changed as she had matured into a y woman.

Jongin suddenly regretted coming to Sohee’s party, but quickly shook his head, trying to get rid of his endless thoughts. He then put on his act and gave Sohee a forced smile. “Hey,” he said and hugged her back.

Sohee smiled in glee, feeling Jongin’s arms wrapped around her was almost as if she was in a dream. She had missed him so much when she was in America. Still smiling, she finally pulled away and turned to the others. “It’s so good to see you all, how long has it been since we last met?” She asked, looking at each of the boys’ faces.

“You look good Sohee,” Chanyeol blurted out, making Sohee smile at his cuteness while the rest mentally face-palmed. “I mean it’s good to see you!” He quickly added.

“It’s good to see you too Chanyeol and the rest,” Sohee said and greeted each of them.

“How was America? Did you study well?” Junmyeon asked, trying to start a conversation.

“I tried to study well, but I couldn’t since Jongin was always on my mind,” she replied and linked arms with Jongin who lightly gave her a fake smile. He really wasn’t enjoying this, but couldn’t stop himself from leaving. Somehow in his head, something was pulling him back. Telling himself to enjoy the time he had now and to just forget about everything.

Jongin smirked and pulled her closer toward him. “You didn’t tell me that,” he breathed against her lips, making her shiver at the sudden thrill. “Maybe we can both enjoy ourselves tonight,” he added which made her eyes widen in surprise. She had never seen Jongin act this way before. She liked that he was acting this way toward her, but she couldn’t stop feeling that something was wrong. Almost as if he was doing this to kill time. However, the sudden closeness made it really hard for her to pull away. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around his neck, pull him down and kiss his bee-stung lips.

“Oh god, please go get a room!” Chanyeol wrinkled his nose in disgust and went to look for a girl. Baekhyun followed him while Junmyeon awkwardly walked off somewhere, not wanting to be caught in Jongin’s and Sohee’s .

Kyungsoo was seriously getting pissed off seeing his best friend act so stupidly. He knew why Jongin was doing this. He just wanted to have a good time and forget about everything that was happening around him. He was being selfish. He just wanted to have fun, not wanting to bother about what others were feeling right now because of him. Yes, he knew that Jongin was doing this for the dance competition, but he didn’t need to act this childishly. Most importantly, Kyungsoo knew that Jongin was doing this to get rid of his feelings for Mira. He was trying really hard to forget her while he really needed her.

“What the heck is wrong with him?” Kyungsoo hissed while he watched Jongin place a kiss on Sohee’s cheek who flushed red in embarrassment. Seriously, if he wants to be selfish, at least don’t get other people involved. He wanted to punch Jongin so bad right now.

Sehun shrugged his shoulders while he ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, but I’m leaving. Seriously, I shouldn’t have come here in the first place.” He groggily stated and disappeared into the crowd.

Kyungsoo couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t watch his best friend act like a total jerk. He wanted to punch him for acting so cowardly and stupidly, but he calmed himself down before he walked toward Sohee and Jongin. “Sohee, I’m sorry but can I talk to Jongin for a bit?” Sohee paused to think for a minute, but agreed in the end to Kyungsoo’s relief. Jongin sighed when Kyungsoo literally dragged him into a room without anyone interfering them.

“What?” Jongin yawned and sat down on the couch, bored and uninterested to listen to what Kyungsoo had to say.

In anger, Kyungsoo grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Jongin so they were facing each other. Kyungsoo wanted to end this, he wanted to put a stop to Jongin's stupid and reckless action. He wanted to stop Jongin’s immature behaviour and get some sense into him. Jongin can’t always run away when he faces obstacles ahead of him. “What is wrong with you?” He rhetorically asked and received a glare from Jongin. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. Just leave me alone,” he coldly stated which pushed Kyungsoo off his limit.

“Are you going to always act like a freakin coward?” He shouted, surprising Jongin. 

It was the first time he had seen Kyungsoo crack at him. Heck, it was the first time he heard Kyungsoo shout at him. “When are you going to grow up? When are you ever going to face the obstacles ahead of you? When are you going to face your fears?” Kyungsoo asked him questions after questions, overwhelming him because he really couldn’t answer any of his questions. He didn’t have any answers, however he knew what Kyungsoo was talking about and referring to. 

Jongin curled his hands into fists, angered that his best friend was yelling at him. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was trying to defend himself since he was a coward. “You don’t know what I’m going through!” He shouted and to his surprise Kyungsoo laughed.

“What are you going through?” He asked, but before Jongin could answer, he continued. “Mira has gotten insomnia recently, she looks terrible by the way," he finally brought up the topic which he wanted to talk to Jongin in forever. He knew right away that Jongin felt guilty when his expression changed. 

“Don’t bring her into this and I don't care about her!” Jongin growled while getting off the couch.

“She’s really worried about you and wonders why you’re avoiding her,” Kyungsoo kept on talking, trying to provoke Jongin so in the end he would finally confess how he felt about her. 

Within seconds, Jongin grabbed onto Kyungsoo’s collar and growled in frustration. “Didn’t I just say that I didn’t care about her? I don’t care ok? I don’t want to get involved with her anymore so just drop this stupid subject!” Kyungsoo knew that this was Jongin's threat and he did it to shut him up, but he couldn’t take Jongin's actions seriously because his voice was filled with emptiness. His whole body shook and his voice cracked while he talked. Jongin was scared, he was scared of his own feelings toward Mira and Kyungsoo knew it.

“Why don’t you want to get involved with her?” Kyungsoo didn’t stop asking him questions. Jongin heaved a sigh, he was running out of patience as he just wanted to stop talking about this. “Didn’t you say you enjoyed her company?” He asked again, but Jongin still kept a straight face.

Yes. “I used to,” he blandly replied, making Kyungsoo chuckle because he knew Jongin was lying.

“Just admit it,” he was getting tired as well. He wanted to stop beating around the bush.

Jongin’s grip on Kyungsoo’s collar tightened as he glared at him. “Admit what?” He hissed.

“You’re afraid to admit that you have fallen in love with her.” Kyungsoo retorted. He then felt Jongin loosen his grip on his collar. In fact, he let go off it and blankly stared down at the ground, not wanting to make any eye contact with Kyungsoo. Without wasting any more time, Jongin walked out of the room, but stopped to turn around.

He finally looked up at Kyungsoo who caringly stared back at him, worried about his best friend. “Yes, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that I have fallen in love with Mira and I can’t help, but be a coward and avoid her.” And with that, Jongin walked away, not glancing back at Kyungsoo for the first time.